A town in New York held a toy gun exchange for children last week. This buyback-style event for children in the area asked for their toy guns in exchange for a different Christmas gift. Officials in the Long Island town of Hempstead invited children to exchange their toy firearms for a “safe alternative.”

Former Tucson, Arizona, police officer Brandon Tatum called the toy gun exchange an “overreaction” Saturday on “Fox & Friends” and stressed that he vehemently disagrees with it. “I think that we need to teach our children about gun safety. We need to give them access to information on these topics,” he said.

Point-Counterpoint

Lt. Derek Warner, of the Hempstead Village Police Department claimed that children’s lives could be put at risk if they’re given toy guns because kids could potentially mistake them for real firearms.

Tatum also said that to “demonize” the ownership of guns is counterproductive for children. “I think we need to do the right thing by teaching our children about safety with guns just like we do when children go to the swimming pool,” he said. “You teach them about safety, and that’s going to curb the violence and curb the deaths that are associated to our children.”

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